yeah, dan brown won his case but his book still reads so 'familiar' to me. i believe that he did lift some ideas and a few paragraphs are very suspect. isn't it possible that with so many people having a vested interest in this case that the judge was swayed to rule in his favor?

if two songs were so similar, i wonder if the ruling would have been the same. it really troubles me that the judge's decision was over 70 pages. that's overkill to me. i can't wait until i take a course in copyrites.

The Da Vinci Code is a mystery/detective novel by American author Dan Brown, published in 2003 by Doubleday.

The novel is based on the controversial premise that there is a conspiracy within the Roman Catholic Church to cover up the true story of Jesus. According to this premise, the Vatican knows it is living a lie, but continues to do so to keep itself in power.

The novel has helped generate popular interest in speculation concerning the Holy Grail legend and the role of Mary Magdalene in the history of Christianity. Fans have lauded the book as a creative, action-packed and thought-provoking work. Critics, whilst often praising the quality of the storytelling, have described the book as being inaccurate on a number of points, both large and small, and claim that most of the information on the "Fact" page at the front of the book is in fact completely untrue and creates confusion between speculation and fact. From a religious point of view, many critics, citing Dan Brown's own comments in various media interviews, claim that the book is a deliberate attempt to undermine Christianity in favour of a feminist/pagan agenda, and decry the many negative implications about the Roman Catholic Church and Opus Dei.

This book concerns the attempts of Robert Langdon, Professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard University, to solve the murder of renowned curator Jacques Saunière (see Bérenger Saunière) of the Louvre Museum in Paris. The title of the novel refers, among other things, to the fact that Saunière's body is found in the Denon Wing of the Louvre naked and posed like Leonardo da Vinci's famous drawing, the Vitruvian Man, with a cryptic message written beside his body and a Pentagram drawn on his stomach in his own blood. The interpretation of hidden messages inside Leonardo's famous works, (which relate to the concept of the Sacred feminine) including the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, figure prominently in the solution to the mystery.

The main conflict in the novel revolves around the solution to two mysteries:

- What secret was Saunière protecting that led to his murder? - Who is the mastermind behind his murder and the murder of the three other sénéchaux?

The novel has several concurrent storylines that follow different characters throughout different parts of the book (DVC chapter summaries). Eventually all the storylines and characters are brought together and resolved in its denouement.

The unraveling of the mystery requires the solution to a series of brain-teasers, including anagrams and number puzzles. The solution itself is found to be intimately connected with the possible location of the Holy Grail and to a mysterious society called the Priory of Sion, as well as to the Knights Templar. The story also involves the Catholic organization Opus Dei.

The novel is the second book of a trilogy by Brown in which Robert Langdon is the main character. The previous book, Angels and Demons, took place in Rome and concerned the Illuminati. Although Angels and Demons is centered on the same character it is not necessary to read the book in order to understand the plot of The Da Vinci Code. The next book is tentatively scheduled for release in 2007. Its working title is The Solomon Key, and it is understood to concern Freemasonry.

The Da Vinci Code is a 2006 feature film based on the bestselling 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code, by author Dan Brown. It was one of the most anticipated films of 2006, and was previewed at the opening night of the Cannes Film Festival on May 17, 2006. The Da Vinci Code then entered major release in many other countries on May 18, 2006 with its first showing in the United States on May 19, 2006.

Because of some controversial interpretations of Christian history, both the book and movie version of The Da Vinci Code have been the target of criticism by the Roman Catholic Church. Some bishops have even urged members to boycott the film. Many of the early showings were accompanied by protesters outside the movie theaters, and early critical reviews were decidedly mixed. However, in its opening weekend, the film earned over $224 million worldwide, second only to the opening of 2005's Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. It is the second highest grossing movie of 2006 worldwide -- grossing an impressive $754,380,142 U.S. as of October 14,2006.